Reputedly recorded for a mere 100 dollars at a Pasadena studio, this self-titled release was the first offering from Southern California's
Dream Syndicate
. The comparisons to
the Velvet Underground
that would dog the band for most of their career originated here. From the opening, icy arpeggios of guitarist
Karl Precoda
's
"Sure Thing"
to the six-string train wreck that brings frontman
Steve Wynn
"Some Kinda Itch"
to a close, the mark of the seminal pre-
punk
outfit is all over these recordings. A larger kit doesn't stop drummer
Dennis Duck
from locking the band into a rigid, primal framework a la
Maureen Tucker
and the
White Light/White Heat
-style recording tactics of the self-production only enhance the gritty sound of the group's twin-guitar attack. On
"That's What You Always Say,"
Wynn
lays down a ragged, metallic strum over which
Precoda
delivers his buzzing, atonal solo. The two then engage in an exchange of fractured chords and six-string shards against the stark rhythm section.
speaks a similar language on
"When You Smile,"
though here the notes seem to corrode to his guitar strings in a rusted mess. As derivative as the sound may be,
were clearly onto something. Just months later, a similar combination of
's deadpan vocals and the band's austere soundscapes would surface on the triumphant
The Days of Wine & Roses
, the group's acknowledged masterpiece and a classic from the (paisley) underground. ~ Nathan Bush